A visit to Kitchener, Ontario

A pretty little plant on their balcony.  Anna loves plants

A view from their balcony - some lovely trees

A section of the water in the park

At Crabby Joe's in Kitchener.

This place reminds me somewhat of Beaver Lake in Montreal where we used to go for our Sunday School picnics when \i was young.

What a super day it was - weather wise.  Warm and sunny, not a cloud in the sky.  It was a rather strange looking bus that took me up to Kitchener.  It looked more like a city bus than a long distance bus.  The seats were not padded and only a few looked forward. There also was no wash room in the bus which is not so good as the journey takes at least one and a half hours.  The bus went faster than the regular buses and it had a strange whiny sound as it travelled.  It was okay but not as comfortable a ride as it usually is. The only positive thing I can say about it is that it is accessible - no steps at all.  However, it also hasn't got a luggage compartment in the bowels of the bus.  One older lady had luggage and the only place it could go was on a square section near the front of the bus which had steel bars around it.  The driver said he could not help her with it either. I did not find him a very friendly driver at all.  I have always felt that Coach Canada staff have been very obliging and helpful.  Perhaps he was just having a bad day.

In any event, we got to Kitchener.  The bus went so fast though that it was not very easy to enjoy the wonderful scenery which is one of the things I like going on this route.  I was a little disappointed about that as well.

Billy met me at the bus station down town and we decided to stay down town and called Anna to come as well.  She took the next bus from her area which runs every half hour.

In the meantime, Billy and I walked over to Victoria Park which is behind the bus station. They have really improved that park and made it very desirable for families to come to. As I recall it from years back, it was a scruffy park, not really too safe.  That has all changed now.  There are families in it, single people, people with walkers and the city has made it lovely.

Bill at the entrance to Victoria Park

Bill inside Victoria Park

A nice little pond

We had to rest at times due to Bill's leg and at one stage, we sat down under a wonderful old tree.  On the other side of the tree, there was a man sleeping on the ground.  We spoke quietly so we would not disturb him.  I don't know if he was a street person, or just a tired man who felt like snoozing in a nice park.  At one point, he looked up and saw us but must have seen we were non-threatening and closed his eyes again.

Queen Victoria - with the usual words inscribed

It is quite amazing to me how Queen Victoria is described as a model wife and mother first and foremost and then her accomplishments as a stateswoman.  I cannot imagine that a statue of a male would say "model husband and father", can you?  I wonder if I am the only one who picks up on that fact?

When we knew that Anna's bus would have arrived, we made our way over to the bus station and she was there waiting for us.  It was good timing.  Both of them had places they wanted to eat at so I suggested a compromise.  Eat the main course at Crabby Joe's (Bill's choice) and then go to the tea room for desert and beverage (Anna's choice). 

The compromise worked but in the end, our waitress was so nice to us that we decided to stay and have desert there.  The deserts were lovely!  Same price as at the club.

I have posted a picture of Anna and Bill at Crabby Joe's above.  My machine will not let me post any more in the body of the writing as I would like to.

However, it is good that I can still post pictures.

I also took some shots of Anna on their balcony.  They have such a good size balcony and where they live is so well kept!  I am thrilled that they have found this wonderful place and they are so well accepted there.

We had a nice little visit at their home and then I took the Kitchener bus to the down town area and did very well in locating the elevator to take me to the main floor of the bus terminal where the out-of-town buses come in.  I was early but, as usual, I people watched and read my little book.

We had one of those mega buses, which I found out is run by Coach Canada, and the driver was a lady this time.  She was fabulous and very good to her passengers.

It was good to get home though as I  felt quite tired by this time. I took the 6:30 bus home from Kitchener as it would be still light when arrived in Hamilton.  All in all, a very pleasant trip and visit with Anna and Bill and Millie, their cat.  She finally came out so I could see her!

Have a great day and enjoy the long weekend for those who live in Canada!